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BISHOP Willie Walsh’s 16-year tenure as Bishop of Killaloe will come to an end on Sunday afternoon following the episcopal ordination of his successor, Fr Kieran O’Reilly. He will be a hard act to follow. In every facet of his life, he has shown huge commitment and leadership.As a teacher, priest, GAA mentor, religious and social commentator, Willie Walsh has left his mark on Irish society. He has a modern outlook on life and certainly has the common touch, which has endeared him to the general public at large.As bishop, his frank and sometimes emotional responses to controversial issues, especially relating to clerical sex abuse of children, has quite frequently attracted national media attention. Bishop Walsh has never shied away from controversy. His readiness to question issues that have been enshrined in the teachings and traditions of the Catholic Church is refreshing. Last year, he challenged Pope Benedict’s ban on discussing the ordination of women to the priesthood. He called …

THE decision to invite Finance Minister Brian Lenihan to address the annual commemoration of Michael Collins’ death at Béal na Bláth stirred some controversy, with Young Fine Gael opting to boycott the event.However, the invitation of the most popular Fianna Fáil politician of the hour was welcomed in many quarters, with the view being voiced that it’s time for Civil War differences to be set aside.Clare TD Pat Breen was among the crowd at Béal na Bláth and he said that the Finance Minister, who is battling cancer, had been made welcome. “Brian Lenihan received a very warm welcome from the crowd, which included a large number of Fine Gael members from Clare and several Fianna Fáil supporters from the county. One of Michael Collins’ life principles was fortitude in the face of adversity and there is an acknowledgement among the general public of how Brian Lenihan is dealing with his illness with such dignity and courage.”He said that former …

After one of their most successful seasons to date, Ennis Players will be launching their 2010/2011 season in the next few weeks. Having qualified for the first time for the RTÉ All-Ireland Drama finals held in Athlone in May and finishing a very respectable third, the group are looking forward to an even better season.Last year, the group had a highly successful supper theatre at the Old Ground Hotel, Ennis over four nights in November where they staged two entertaining one-act plays to packed houses. The spring brought their highly praised production of the classic Synge play, The Playboy of the Western World, which played to sell-out audiences at Glór over four nights. The production then took to the roads and competed at six drama festivals throughout the country culminating in its selection as one of nine plays to appear in Athlone.Having recharged the batteries over the summer, the actors, production and backstage crew are now ready to launch into …

SEOL Sionna, the West Clare group behind a boat-building project, is holding the first of a series of workshops in Querrin on Saturday, September 25, at 10am.This follows the recent open day in Ned Griffin’s shed in Querrin when the people behind the project were quite taken by the level of interest and goodwill evidenced by a big attendance.Meantime, the group has held interviews for the limited number of places on the boat-building course due to start soon. Beginning in October, training will take place three days a week, with open days on Saturday.    Seol Sionna’s ambitious training project will result in a 25ft wooden sailing boat evoking the small-to-medium class Shannon hooker that once sailed the estuary.Over the process, extensive boat-building, boat handling skills and local knowledge inherent in Seol Sionna membership will be utilised. In preparation for sailing, people will be able to avail of a yachtmaster shore-based navigation course under the guidance of Brendan Travers. The sailing …

IN terrible conditions and against the odds, 13 swimmers successfully reached Doolin Pier after swimming 13km and raising €15,000 for charity at the weekend.The group were raising money for Temple Street Children’s Hospital by doing what one participant described as “a horrible, horrible swim” which took some of them more than four and a half hours to complete. “I suppose it was a success in that we managed to do it but it was a horrible, horrible swim. I don’t think even the Coast Guard believed we could do it,” said Ennis resident Pat Finn, who participated in the event. The group met at Doolin at 10am on Saturday and took part in a safety briefing with the Coast Guard before taking the ferry to Inis Oirr and beginning what turned out to be one of the toughest swims some of them had ever undertaken. As the crow flies, the distance between Inis Oirr and Doolin Pier is 10km but …

SHANNON’S US Customs and Border Protection pre-clearance (CBP) facility opened last August to great fanfare.

Wednesday was a day of high emotion for the more than 1,400 people across the county who collected their Leaving Certificate results.As usual, higher-level maths was a talking point as Clare principals speculated that pupils in the county had done as well in the subject this year, as they had in previous years.More than 43% of those who sat higher-level maths nationwide were awarded As or Bs. This is down nearly 5% on last year, and 2% on 2008. Anne Tuohy, principal of CBS Ennistymon, was delighted with her pupils’ results, especially in maths. “We had a 600-pointer with extras to spare and that is no mean achievement. Declan O’Loughlin is his name and he did very well but all the lads were really pleased. We had quite a number who achieved more than 500 points and we went against the trend here in maths, with quite a number of A1s at higher level. “The big thing now is to …

A €1.5 million trust fund was established by the Diocese of Killaloe to help provide healing for people hurt by clerical sex abuse, Bishop Willie Walsh has revealed.